In March 2007, three girls studying GCSE astronomy at Marlborough became the first secondary level pupils to observe through the night at the 4.2m aperture, 210 tonne William Herschel Telescope - the largest telescope at the European Northern Observatory on the Roque de los Muchachos and the largest telescope of its type in western Europe.

This formed part of a week-long expedition to the precipitous and volcanically active La Palma. It was the fourth such expedition to the island by astronomy pupils at the College.




At The Cutting Edge Of Research
The pupils joined Dr Luisa Morales-Rueda, a researcher from the Netherlands to observe with the 4.2m WHT telescope.	RESOURCES: External Links: The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, La Palma

On their second night of observing, they were led by Chris Copperwheat, a researcher from Warwick University, who helped them with the 2.5m Isaac Newton telescope. On both nights new discoveries were made, precise measurements being taken of close Binary systems: namely, White Dwarfs and sub-dwarf B stars. This was cutting edge research, and unavoidably complex, but the researchers gave clear explanations of their work and analysis. In all, the girls enjoyed twenty hours of observing. This still left them time to explore the rest of the island, to sample the local cuisine and to walk down the island's fault-line which will, at some stage, lead to the collapse of its western side and cause a devastating tsunami.

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NEWS & CALENDAR:

Astronomy Trip, La Palma 2007

At The Cutting Edge Of Research

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